


Beyond Borders

by NeurovascularEntrapta



Series: WhiteRose Week 2020 [1]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Cuddles, F/F, Forbidden Love, Secret Relationship, Warrior Cats AU, Whiterose week 2020, rwby characters as warrior cats, wlw cats, wrw2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-11
Updated: 2020-06-11
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:14:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24644671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NeurovascularEntrapta/pseuds/NeurovascularEntrapta
Summary: Ruby and Weiss - or in this case, Redpaw and Whitepaw - are warrior cat apprentices from different Clans. As such, their relationship is forbidden, so they have to meet in secret.WhiteRose Week 2020, for audience list prompts #3, 5, and 6: Secret relationship, Cuddles, and Forbidden love.
Relationships: Ruby Rose/Weiss Schnee
Series: WhiteRose Week 2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1783129
Comments: 4
Kudos: 27





	Beyond Borders

**Author's Note:**

> If you've ever read the Warriors series, you've read sooo many scenarios of cats falling in love with someone from a different Clan. Now you can read another one featuring Ruby and Weiss, or Redpaw of ThunderClan and Whitepaw of ShadowClan.
> 
> No other characters are present, but several are mentioned. As this is a separate AU from the canon Warriors universe, none of the cats from the series are here, but I've given Clan names to some RWBY characters.
> 
> If you haven't read Warriors, you may find some of the cat terminology confusing. The end notes have a brief explanation.

Hiding within the shadows of twilight, Redpaw checked the scent markers at the ShadowClan border. Once satisfied that the last patrol of the day had already passed and gone, the young she-cat limped out from the cover of the woods on the ThunderClan side of the border. Keeping her ears pricked for any ShadowClan warriors out on a late-evening hunt, Redpaw made her way along the thin pine trees that formed ShadowClan’s territory.

By the time Redpaw had reached the border between ShadowClan territory and Twolegplace, the sun had completely gone down and Silverpelt was visible across the night sky. She was going to be late. The apprentice hurried her steps as she passed one Twoleg den after another. Soon the dens opened into a small wooded area — about a quarter the size of ThunderClan’s forest territory, but plenty of space for two apprentices to meet in secret.

As she padded through the brush and into soft grass, she caught a familiar scent moments before a sharp voice hissed, “You’re late again!”

Redpaw looked up into blazing blue eyes as Whitepaw stalked towards her, irritation evident in the twitch of her ears. In spite of the frosty greeting, Redpaw surged forward to press her reddish-brown fur against the other apprentice’s white pelt.

“I’m sorry,” she meowed abashedly. “I was supposed to see Goldenwhisker before going to my nest, and she would have hunted me down if I didn’t.”

Whitepaw’s glare softened as she pulled back to meet Redpaw’s silver eyes. “Your medicine cat is somehow scarier than any warrior in the Clans,” the white she-cat meowed.

“I suppose I can forgive you, since I wouldn’t wish Goldenwhisker’s wrath on my worst enemy.”

As Whitepaw led the way towards their favorite mossy area of the Twolegs’ woods, Redpaw purred in amusement, “How gracious of you, for taking pity on such a foolish cat like me.”

Whitepaw cuffed her over the ear, whiskers twitching as she stifled her own purr. “Quiet, you, or next time I see Yellowpaw at the Gathering I’ll convince her to put a spider in your nest again.”

Redpaw gasped. “Yellowpaw wouldn’t dare! She promised not to do that again after what happened last time.”

“Right,” Whitepaw drawled. “The mighty Redpaw of ThunderClan, defeated by a single long-legged spider. Wasn’t that prank your sister’s retaliation for convincing her that she slept through dawn patrol again?”

Redpaw sputtered, “That’s because _I_ was retaliating for Yellowpaw convincing me that Pinestar was possessed by an ancient StarClan spirit. I couldn’t act casual around him for two moons afterward, even once I knew she was making it up.”

Whitepaw just shook her head in exasperation, settling herself in a patch of clovers and moss. “You two are ridiculous,” she meowed. “At this rate it’ll be a miracle if you’re ever made warriors.”

“Nah, we’ll be fine,” Redpaw replied, plopping down beside her. “Pinestar has a soft spot for us, he lets us get away with anything. Though, speaking of becoming warriors…” She looked intently at the she-cat beside her. “Aren’t you almost ready for your assessment?”

Pride lit up Whitepaw’s eyes as she responded, “That’s right. Icefang says my hunting skills are almost perfect, and I just need to get better at a few fighting techniques before she’ll speak to Oakstar about my assessment.”

Redpaw leaned forward to rest her head against Whitepaw’s shoulder. “That’s awesome!” she squealed. “You’re gonna be a warrior soon! Oh, what do you think your warrior name will be? Maybe Whitewhisker, or Whitestream, or what about Whiteblaze?”

“Redpaw,” the older apprentice interrupted. “I won’t know until the ceremony, which won’t happen until _after_ I pass my assessment, which isn’t happening just yet.” Despite her serious tone, Redpaw could tell that Whitepaw was equally excited and also pleased to have someone to share her excitement.

“I know,” Redpaw murmured. “I’m just happy for you.”

Whitepaw leaned down to lick between Redpaw’s ears before answering. “You know I appreciate your enthusiasm,” she meowed softly. “I miss it when we’re apart.”

Redpaw twisted around so she could groom the white she-cat as well. “I miss your witty retorts,” she mused. “I’ll turn around to ask your opinion and then remember we’re in different Clans.”

Whitepaw sighed. “This is going to become even more difficult once we’re warriors, you know that, right? We’re already breaking the warrior code, and as warriors we’ll have more responsibilities that will make it harder to sneak away.”

“I know,” Redpaw meowed sadly. “I wish you could just join ThunderClan. It would make everything simpler.”

“You know I can’t do that.”

“Then maybe I can join ShadowClan.”

“I couldn’t ask you to do that either.”

Redpaw snarled in frustration, “Then how else are we going to stay together? Convince our leaders to let us be?”

Whitepaw bristled. “That’s not going to happen, the warrior code forbids—”

“Then maybe the code needs to change!” Redpaw snapped, jumping to her paws. “It’s not— Ow!”

Hissing in pain, Redpaw stumbled back from Whitepaw, trying not to fall over as her left hind leg twinged sharply from the sudden movement.

Whitepaw immediately rushed to close the distance again, frantically inspecting Redpaw for wounds while keeping her from falling. “What happened? Are you hurt?”

“I’m fine,” Redpaw insisted through gritted teeth, even as she staggered against Whitepaw’s steadying shoulder. “It’s just a scratch.”

Whitepaw eased the red-furred apprentice back to the ground, moving to look over her injured leg. “That’s not _just a scratch_ , mousebrain, that’s an infected scratch,” she meowed disapprovingly. “You shouldn’t be walking on this, let alone traveling outside of your Clan territory.”

“It’s not that bad,” Redpaw replied, though she would have been more convincing without the slight whimper in her voice. “And I told you, Goldenwhisker already put a poultice on it, marigold I think.”

“It’s clearly infected, and you should be resting until it’s properly healed.” Whitepaw’s voice was stern, but not angry anymore. “How did this even happen? Did you get in a fight with a fox?”

“No, but it happened while I was battle training with Crowstorm a few days ago,” Redpaw answered.

Whitepaw’s eyes widened. “He’s practicing with claws unsheathed? Redpaw, every warrior knows that for training purposes—”

“No, Whitepaw, that’s not what I meant,” Redpaw cut in. “He twisted out of the way at the last second when I lunged for him, then I,” she paused, looking embarrassed. “I lost my balance and stumbled into a bramble bush.”

Whitepaw huffed. “Honestly, you’ve got to be more careful. And your mentor should be more cautious too, even if he is your kin.”

“Hey, Icefang is your kin too,” Redpaw protested.

“Icefang is my sister, and she’s twice as responsible as Crowstorm,” Whitepaw retorted, even as she curled herself close to the red-furred apprentice. “Considering he and Flameheart are bickering every time I see them at Gatherings, I can only imagine how it must have upset your father when Pinestar chose your mentor.”

Redpaw purred in amusement at the memory, “Flameheart was pretty miffed. I don’t think he and Crowstorm have ever gotten along, even when Ravenstrike was Flameheart’s mate.”

Whitepaw rolled her eyes. “To be fair, Ravenstrike was not happy when she learned she wasn’t the only she-cat expecting Flameheart’s kits, from what I’ve heard.”

“Yeah…” Redpaw sighed. “My Clan, and my kin in particular, have a lot of weird issues going on. It’s kind of the norm to expect constant arguments at this point.”

“At least you and Yellowpaw have each other,” Whitepaw noted. “I don’t know what I would do without my sister. And considering the possibility for resentment, it’s fortunate that you two get along.”

“That’s true,” Redpaw meowed. “I’m pretty sure my mother’s at least partially responsible—” She broke off, trying unsuccessfully to stifle a yawn.

“It’s nearly moonhigh,” Whitepaw murmured softly, glancing up at the waxing moon.

“I’m not ready to leave yet,” Redpaw mumbled, shifting to press their fur closer together.

“Come on, you big lump.” Whitepaw nudged the younger she-cat with her shoulder. “We’ll see each other at the Gathering in just a few nights.”

“But I’m going to miss this,” Redpaw replied somberly. She lifted her head to meet Whitepaw’s eyes. “You were right that things between us are going to be more difficult once we’re warriors,” the silver-eyed she-cat meowed. “And you’ll be a warrior within the next moon. I don’t want to put your standing with your Clan at risk.”

Whitepaw held her gaze, at a loss for words. _She_ was supposed to be the responsible one, and yet… “I don’t want to let you go. We can find a way—”

“Let’s not worry about it right now,” Redpaw pleaded softly. She touched her muzzle to Whitepaw’s, breathing in the scent of the cat she loved. “Can we at least have tonight, curled up together without any cat or code to stand between us?”

Whitepaw leaned into Redpaw and pushed down the sadness swelling in her chest. “Of course, love. I’m here.”

The two she-cats settled more comfortably against each other, no more words spoken between them. Listening to Redpaw’s breathing slow, Whitepaw realized the younger she-cat had fallen asleep. The white she-cat tucked her nose into reddish-brown fur, allowing the weight of the day and her secret relationship to draw her toward sleep as well.

Before drifting off, Whitepaw’s thoughts drifted back to their previous argument and the sadness in Redpaw’s eyes at the acceptance of their situation. She pictured the faces of her Clanmates, who could never know of her love: Oakstar, ShadowClan’s steadfast leader; Icefang, her sister and mentor; even Frostclaw, Clan deputy and her father. How could she choose Redpaw over them?

But how could she choose them over Redpaw? No one understood her better, appreciated and supported her more, or truly and deeply _loved_ her as the ThunderClan apprentice did. In spite of the warrior code — Whitepaw could not give that up, could not give _her_ up.

 _We will find a way_ , she promised silently. _No matter what happens._

**Author's Note:**

> Warriors terminology:  
> Twoleg = human; Twoleg den = house/building; Twolegplace = a group of houses/buildings; Silverpelt = the Milky Way as visible in the night sky; apprentice = cat older than 6 months and in training to become a warrior; mentor = warrior assigned to an apprentice, responsible for their training; Gathering = monthly meeting between all 5 Clans; a moon = a month, or a lunar cycle; assessment = an apprentice's final evaluation by their mentor before being promoted to warrior; warrior code = set of laws that all Clan cats are bound to follow, among which is the rule that forbids relationships between cats of different Clans; kin = family (except the word "family" is almost never used in the series); mousebrain = an insult, like "idiot;" moonhigh = midnight.
> 
> The Clans:  
> There are 5 living Clans - ThunderClan, ShadowClan, WindClan, RiverClan, and SkyClan. Those who have died and gone to the cat afterlife are known as StarClan.
> 
> Clan structure:  
> The Clan leader is in charge. Their second-in-command and presumed successor is the deputy. Warriors are trained to hunt and fight for their Clan. The medicine cat is chosen by StarClan to heal their Clanmates with herbs and communicate with their ancestors on behalf of their Clan; they do not train as warriors besides basic hunting skills.  
> There are also a few other roles that aren't mentioned in this oneshot.
> 
> Naming conventions:  
> Newborn kittens are given the first half of their name plus the suffix "-kit." At the age of 6 months, they become apprentices with the new suffix "-paw." Upon completing warrior training, a cat receives a suffix from their Clan leader. A Clan leader receives the suffix "-star" when they become leader.  
> (Example: Squirrelkit, Squirrelpaw, Squirrelflight, Squirrelstar)
> 
> Find me on tumblr as entraptas-kid-sister


End file.
